Top photos of the day: Monday, September 8, 2014

From the archives:

40 years ago on this date, President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. People were not pleased. | AP file photo

A selection of some of the best photographs from around the world:

Costumed characters who work taking photos and collecting tips from people in Times Square hold a protest during a news conference announcing new legislation being introduced by city and state officials for the licensing and regulation of costumed people in Times Square in New York City. As the number of costumed characters has grown over the past year, a growing number of complaints and arrests of the characters have taken place. | Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images

Former presidents Bill Clinton (left) and George W. Bush share a laugh during an event launching the Presidential Leadership Scholars program at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. With the cooperation of the Clinton, Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson and George H. W. Bush presidential libraries and foundations, the new scholarship program will provide “motivated leaders across all sectors an opportunity to study presidential leadership and decision making and learn from key administration officials, practitioners and leading academics.” | Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The moon shines behind the Lanterns at the Wonderland Mid-Autumn festival at Victoria Park in Hong Kong, China. | Photo by Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images

Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko exits a government building after speaking in the embattled city of Mariupol in Mariupol, Ukraine. Following over three nights of shelling on the outskirts of the strategic port city, European monitors say that a cease-fire in the region between Kiev’s forces and pro-Russian separatists is largely holding. In a speech to local residents and journalists, Poroshenko stressed Ukraine’s commitment to defending Mariupol and said that more soldiers would be on their way to the city shortly. | Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

A Somali soldier stands near the wreckage of civilian vehicle destroyed by a suicide car bomb attack near the Elasha Biyaha settlement, in the Lower Shabelle region south of the capital Mogadishu, Somalia. At least 12 civilians were killed Monday when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives-laden car next to a convoy of African Union forces moving near two minibuses, followed by a second suicide attacker ramming his car into a convoy escorting the Mogadishu intelligence commander on his way to inspect the scene of the first blast, the first serious assault by suspected Islamic extremists after the killing of al-Shabab’s top leader in a U.S. airstrike last week, according to a police and a regional official. | AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh

Designer Tommy Hilfiger walks the runway at Tommy Hilfiger Women’s fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Spring 2015 at Park Avenue Armory in New York City. | Photo by Randy Brooke/Getty Images for Tommy Hilfiger